How The Academy Award Winner Overcame Obstacles

Academy Award Winner Overcame Obstacles

If you have watched the movie, “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Shakespeare in Love,” or “Mamma Mia!” you may know who Colin Firth is. If you don’t, we are here to help you out with this one! The British actor was born in Grayshott, Hampshire on the 10th of September, 1960. His family is full of teachers and academics. His parents spent a part of their childhoods in India. Firth himself had to do quite a bit of traveling owing to his parents’ work. 

By the age of 10, Colin Firth was attending drama workshops, and when he was 14, he decided to take acting pretty seriously. In fact, he was not much interested in the lessons taught at school, which he found to be boring. But later on, he got highly interested in English literature because of the lessons from an enthusiastic teacher named Penny Edwards. In the year 1984, Firth made his movie debut and then began acting in several films from then on. The successful actor who has won an Academy Award for his role as King George VI in “The King’s Speech,” has had his fair share of troubles and obstacles in life.

When Firth was a young actor, he had an injury because of which he had to undergo surgery on his vocal cords. This was a terrible blow to the actor since he “couldn’t be heard properly” because of the injury. Firth was not able to convey his messages the way he wanted and it affected him both physically and mentally. Firth states that a voice therapist once told him, “Don’t underestimate how debilitating it is.”

Colin Firth’s past problems with his vocal cords made his portrayal of King George VI all the more challenging and intriguing to him. But, added to his voice issues, Firth was also going through a semi-paralysis, which would last for about three to four days. In spite of these health issues, Firth has proved his mettle as a talented actor. He has acted in popular movies, such as “Tumbledown,” “Valmont,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Apartment Zero,” and so on.

Firth has won a BAFTA award for “A Single Man”. In 2011, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and in the very same year, he won a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!